I just reinstalled my XP OS. I performed a full reinstall on the advice of
members here due to my continuing issues?
Now I noticed my hard drive was still very full but my system only showes a
few programs. I guess my old programs are still loaded but the connections
after the OS reinstall have been broken.
How can I rid my hard drive of all of these unnneeded programs?
1. Use standard WinXP utilities to delete unwanted files, e.g.
(in your email app) delete all unwanted old emails, then delete
them from / Deleted Items, then do / Folders / Compact,
2. Search drive c:/ for files of type *.TMP and delete all.
2b. Search drive c:/ for folders named /temp or /tmp and delete all
their contents.
2c. This simple deletion only moves them to the folder / Recycler.
So you should delete all the contents of this folder. This makes
the deletion permanent.
3 Run the WinXP / drive / Properties / Disk space tool to free
up wasted space. This tells you (before doing anything) how
much space would be freed by deleting / temporary files,
Internet history, etc.
4. / Control Panel / Add/Remove Programs to uninstal all old
software you will never need again.
5. Have a look through C:/ Program Files for leftover folders
for uninstalled software (#4.) If you see any you can safely
delete both folders and contents.
5b. Similarly if you see folders for any other apps you have
discarded (that did not show in step #4) you could delete these
folders too -- but it would be more prudent to create a new
folder elsewhere, call it D:/Discards. Then use the MOVE
command to move into / Discards all leftover junk from
C:/Program Files about which you are uncertain. You can
delete these weeks or months later, when you are sure.
6. Check the / Recycler bin again and empty it if needed.
7. Run CHECKDISK (one of the disk tools)
8. Run DEFRAG (another disk tool.) After evaluating the
drive it will recommend whether you need to defrag or not.
Post later results in this same thread.
